



COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Americas3 offers oppoertunities to include community singers (any age, any level), local mariachi musicians, and/or local violinists and trumpeters. If interested in involving your community, let's start planning well in advance of the actual performance.
In addition, we offer the workshops listed below and are happy to generate ideas taylored to your community together with you.
1. Assembly: A Musical Journey Through the Americas
This program offers a summarizing overview of the music and cultures of the Americas, including the demonstration of many instruments and vocal styles. The program illustrates how the Native American, European, and African cultural currents are expressed in the music of the Americas.
2. Workshop: What Meets The Eye
This workshop is intended for high school or adult participants.It uses verbal and musical interaction to point out assumptions people tend to make about each other, and to illustrate what can happen when someone is placed in new, unfamiliar situations, as is the case with newly arrived immigrants.
3. Theater/Storytelling Workshop: Stories from various Cultures of The Americas Presented by The Cast of Americas3
In this workshop, various members of the Americas3 cast will tell stories and legends from their cultures of origin, A participatory, fun program for all ages!
4. Musical Rehearsals
If desired, Americas3 can incorporate local community members of all ages into its performance. Advance planning and rehearsals are necessary.
5. School Performances Using Critical Response
Americas3 can be performed in schools as is, simply for students to enjoy and learn from, or it can be presented as a purposeful exercise that engages students in Critical Response, a learning technique that teaches reflection and in-depth observation of art, a skill that can be applied to other learning areas. Below is a description of Critical Response.
CRITICAL RESPONSE is a structured process [developed by the Perpich Center in Minneapolis] that allows responders to pay close attention to a particular piece of art, text or a performance. Through the guidance of a facilitator, a group responds to these five questions:
1. What do you notice? (Describe without judgment: "I notice...")
2. What does it remind you of? (What memory, experience, story, music, other work does this trigger? There are no wrong answers or associations.)
3. What emotions do you feel as you respond to this work? (Again, no wrong answers.)
4. What questions does it raise for you? ("I wonder...")
5. What meaning or understanding is intended or conveyed in this work?
This tool engages and empowers all participants by setting them up for success. THERE ARE NO WRONG ANSWERS when people begin by describing or stating what they see and notice. Each participant has room to grow, connect, question, and draw meaningful insights from the work. Collectively, the community benefits from the whole, with meaning-making occurring through the sharing of all participants' insights. Critical Response is at the heart of Artful teaching and learning practice, grounded in Dr. James Comer’s idea that "No significant learning occurs outside of a significant relationship."
(Taken from the Minneapolis Public Schools web site.)